On the podcast this week, we catch up with sprinter Kenny Bednarek to get the details on his experience at the Paris Olympics. This summer, Kenny won his second silver medal in the men’s 200m, a repeat win.
He is not the only Olympian with a matching set of silver medals.
For the 1996 Summer Olympics, Nike came out with a much derided ad campaign with the tag line, “You Don’t Win Silver, You Lose Gold.” We could not disagree more with this assessment. The ad diminished the accomplishment of coming in second place on the most competitive stage in the world. Here are a few amazing competitors who took home a pair–or more–of Olympic silver medals in the same individual (not team) event:
Rebecca Andrade, women’s artistic gymnastics – all-around
Rebecca Andrade brought Brazil to the forefront of women’s gymnastics. She has overcome three devastating knee injuries that each required reconstructive surgery that would have sidelined lesser mortals. Her silver medal in the all-around at Tokyo 2020 was the first medal for Brazil in women’s gymnastic. She came back for Paris 2024 to repeat, this time behind legend Simone Biles. She has won six Olympic medals overall.
Cocono Hiraki, skateboarding – women’s park
Skateboarding has only been the Olympic twice but Cocono Hiraki took home a silver medal both times. At only 13 years old, Hiraki held her nerve on home soil in Tokyo. She came back for Paris 2024 and did it again. At 16, she is the youngest of our repeat Olympic silver medalists.
Regan Smith, swimming – women’s 200m butterfly
Regan Smith is considered a backstroke specialist, but she repeated her silver medal-winning ways in the 200m butterfly in Tokyo and Paris. She broke the American record in the finals in Paris.
Will Claye, athletics – men’s triple jump
Will Claye took home two silver medals in the men’s triple jump, from London 2012 and Rio 2016. The American may have fonder memories from Brazil unrelated to the result. After finishing his competition, Claye ran into the stands and proposed to his girlfriend, sprinter Queen Harrison. The couple married in 2018.
Katharina Schmid, ski jumping – women’s normal hill
Women’s ski jumping has only appeared in the last three Winter Olympics, and Katharina Schmid has competed all three times. The German won silver at both Pyeongchang 2018 and Beijing 2022, competing under her maiden name, Althaus. She continues to jump, winning bronze at the World Championships this past January.
Brian Orser, figure skating – men
Canadian Brian Orser first won silver in the men’s figure skating competition in Sarajevo 1984, becoming the first man to land a triple axel in Olympic competition. Four years later, he faced American rival Brian Boitano in what was dubbed the “Battle of the Brians.” Boitano won the competition by 1/10th of a point and Orser was awarded his second silver medal. Orser has gone on to become a successful coach, including steering Yuna Kim to gold at Vancouver 2010.
Elvis Stojko, figure skating – men
Double silver medals became a tradition for Canadian men. At Lillehammer 1994, Stojko finished behind Aleksei Urmanov in an extremely close and controversial decision by the judges. For years later at Nagano 1998, Stojko battled through the flu and a groin injury to claim his second silver medal.
Elana Meyers Taylor, bobsled – 2-women
OK, maybe technically not an individual event, but the American driver pulled off her back-to-back silvers with different pushers. Meyers Taylor has a large collection of Winter Olympic medals won over four Olympics. She managed her silver repeat in the 2-women bobsled over Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang 2018. Despite motherhood and several concussions, Meyers Taylor continues in her quest for an Olympic gold medal. She is shooting for Olympics #5 at Milano-Cortina 2026 and hopes to compete in both the 2-women bobsled and monobob. If she wins silver in the monobob, it will be a repeat silver for her.
Ivica Kostelic, alpine skiing – men’s super combined
Plagued by injuries throughout his skiing career, Kostelic made it happen when it mattered. The Croatian first competed in the Olympics in Salt Lake City 2002. He won his first medal in 2006 in the combined event. In Vancouver 2010, he medalled in both the slalom and super combined. He repeated his silver-medal winning performance in the super combined in Sochi 2014. He and his sister Janica have won 10 of the 11 Winter Olympic medals won by Croatia.
Joe Kovacs, athletics – men’s shot put
Joe Kovacs would be the greatest Olympic shot putter in history–except for the fact that he’s competing in the same time period as his American teammate Ryan Crouser. Kovacs actually has three silver medals in the men’s shot put, from Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, and Paris 2024. Each time, Crouser edged Kovacs for the victory.
–Alison Brown